Conquistadors of the useless

From the Alps to Annapurna

I have given my whole life to the mountains. Born at the foot of the Alps, I
have been a ski champion, a professional guide, an amateur of the greatest
climbs in the Alps and a member of eight expeditions to the Andes and the
Himalayas. If the word has any meaning at all, I am a mountaineer.

So Lionel Terray begins his autobiography, with typical Gallic arrogance, but
typical commitment. One of the most colourful characters of the mountaineering
world, his writing is true to his uncompromising but jubilantly passionate
love for the mountains.

Terray was one of the greatest alpinists the world has ever seen, and his
autobiography is one of the finest and most important mountaineering books
ever written.

Climbing with mountaineering legends such as Gaston Rebuffat, Maurice Herzog
and Louis Lachenal, Terray made first ascents in the Alps, Alaska, the Andes,
and the Himalaya. He was at the centre of global mountaineering and climbing
at a time when Europe was emerging from the shadow of World War II, and he
emerged as a hero. The gripping adventures told within Conquistadors of the
Useless capture the energy of French post-war optimism, a time when France
needed to re-assert itself and when climbing triumphs were more valued than at
any other time in history.

Terray’s death, in the Vercors, robbed mountaineering of one of its most
passionate and far-sighted figures. His energy, so obvious in his book, will
inspire generations of climbers for years to come. A mountaineering classic.

No of Pages: 480
Page Size: 129 x 198 mm
Binding: Paperback
Illustrations: Black & White Diagrams